Rising and Falling
by Allrounder
Summary: When XANA is believed to be dead, a prisoner encased in ice is released. His objectives are unclear, but he has a piece of memory that Aelita definetly does not want to hear or believe...
1. Prolouge

AN: Well, this is my first fanfic. So, criticism will be well appreciated.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Code Lyoko.

Prologue: Appearance

_**Edward's POV**_

Lyoko looked different than the last time I saw it, but then, I was frozen in a block of ice for years, so it should be different. But this is uncalled for. Why is **that **man's data doing here? And where was his accursed program? Then again, only him and me could destroy him with our own life energy, so that makes sense. "Well, no point standing around here anymore. If **he** has next-of-kin, hunting is required." I thought to myself. Giving myself a smirk, I forced opened the supercomputer and scanners long enough for me to escape.

_**Normal POV**_

As Edward's data began to flow away, no one could have noticed a symbol appearing on the ground five miles where he devirtualised. It was the symbol of XANA.

AN: Well, there we go! Another AI in the Lyoko world! More details on Edward will be revealed next chapter!


	2. Immediate Action

AN: Here is Chapter 1! I might as well post this before my mind explodes with ideas.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Code Lyoko.

Chapter 1: Introduction

"Excuse me, class, I would like to introduce a new student that has just enrolled here." Mrs. Hertz said, trying to get her voice over the class' chatter. "Please welcome Edward… uh…um… what is your name again?" "My name is Edward Niarack." The boy beside her said. He wore a simple green polo-t which was draped with a brown vest. He also had navy blue trousers and green-laced white sneakers. His eyes were navy blue. "Nature lover." Odd whispered. As if he heard him, Edward turned his head in his direction. His eyes whispered, "Shut up."

After school, the group gathered near the vending machine for a meeting. "Another student, another learning mouth to feed." Odd muttered as he waited for his drink to fill. "What should we do now? XANA's gone, Lyoko's safe, nothing to do now." Yumi asked. "Yeah. Maybe we should give the factory a visit?" Aelita suggested. "Maybe. Let's go back to our rooms to drop our stuff." Ulrich replied. Does anyone think the new kid's weird? He creeps me out. It's like he's a robot."Odd cut in. Ignoring Odd, they nod in agreement with Ulrich, threw away their drinks and headed for their dorms/house. Unbeknownst to them, a certain somebody was in the shadows, listening, understanding its chances, possibilities, and interests.

Jeremy and Aelita walked alone in the hallway. They talked about each other about stories of Lyoko with Aelita refreshing her memories again and again. "Remember the first time we fought the Kolossus?"" Yeah. Heh. Seems funny, now that it is over." "Yeah." As they talked a person slowly trailed them, its chance was near. Once the hallways were clear, Edward dashed for Jeremy's dorm. Clutching the thumb drive in his pocket, he knew he had to act fast.

Saying 'see you later' to Aelita, Jeremy headed upstairs to his room. Reaching the door, he reached for the handle when he heard tapping inside. Hesitating he slowly reached for the handle, and swung the door open…

AN: Yes! My first cliffhanger! Once again, criticism is appreciated. Just please don't flame me!


	3. Escape & Discovery

AN: I understand that the first two chapters were short. This will be a long chapter.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko**

…" Nobody. Hm." Jeremy muttered. The computer was off and most of the floor was clear except for the large pile of old papers and binders. He went on the computer to see anything wrong. "Programs… still there. Records of Hack... …none. Everything's fine." Shrugging, he dropped his things on the bed and went out to the meet the others outside the school. However, under the table, covered by binders and papers, Edward crawled out the moment he heard the door slam. Trying his best to avoid detection, he slowly approached the door and opened it as carefully as possible, to avoid anybody noticing. Slipping out, the door closed with a soft thud, which was loud enough for everybody in the hallway to hear.

_**Edward's POV**_

Quite simple, I thought. Jeremy had so office supplies, a thousand rats could hide in there. Chuckling to myself, I swung the thumb drive around my finger. "Ha. He calls himself the founder of the group, and didn't even have a modern hack protection software. Just enough to prevent Internet hacks. Ha." I said to myself. "But I got to give him credit. To install 15 passwords just to get to the password 'Scipio' is quite paranoid." Walking towards my room, I took caution in walking around, though there was no need to, since everyone was either in their rooms with doors shut or outside loitering. Entering my room, I plugged in the drive and uploaded the files. As I sifted through the files, trying to restrain my laughter at the wrong facts and snorting at the right facts' slipshod organizing, I did not find anything important. Groaning, a realization comes to my mind. "Oh no, I forgot to erase my Digital Signatures from the Super Computer! I can't take my chances with those guys!" Closing my computer, I dashed from my room to the park.

_**Normal POV**_

As Edward ran through the gates, he narrowly missed the group, who were going in the same direction. Jumping down the man-hole, he ran as fast as he could to the factory. Reaching the lift, he jabbed at the lift's number panel. After many failed attempts, he heard footsteps approaching. In his desperation, he swiped his hand over the pad, which made the elevator instantly close and descend. When the elevator reached the lab, the wires stopped moving, making as if no one had used it. Meanwhile, with the group, they swung down on the wires and inched towards the lift button, all anxious to see the lab again. However, with Edward, he had no time to switch on the Main Computer Generator. Instead, he swiped his hand over the Supercomputer, which instantly turned on. Typing as fast as one of XANA's specters, he erased his Digital Signatures, but he couldn't erase the debris of his glacier prison. So he did the next best thing. Preserving the evidence by stopping everybody that comes in.

Meanwhile, the group was travelling in the elevator, discussing their past adventures. Then, the lift stopped abruptly. Blaming it on the old wires, Yumi punched the pad with anger. None of them reacted. Only when the lights went off was when they started to panic. Used to being stuck in the elevator, Ulrich jumped off Yumi's hands and bust open the roof. Helping the rest up, they started to climb up the metal rungs, with Ulrich slowing them down, closing his eyes and stopping all of a sudden when he reached too far or too short of a rung, with obvious reasons, of course. But they reached the lab, all the same. "Finally," Ulrich muttered, trying his best to avoid looking down. Punching the number pad at the side of the door, Jeremy signals the rest to make their way up. As the door opens, faint taps could be heard on the opposite side of the Supercomputer. As they stepped into the lab, the taps became louder. "What the?" "Somebody is using the Supercomputer!" "Who is it?" the group's voices echoed through the lab. Aelita slowly headed towards the keyboard. Trembling, she then did a double take. "EDWARD?" Aelita exclaimed. "Uh…Hi guys…..heh….see you on Lyoko!" Edward said, waving his hand over the screen and charging to the open panel leading to the Scanner Room. Trying to chase him, Ulrich ran to the side of the lab. And as the panel slid shut, Ulrich tried to pry it open as Jeremy looks at the Supercomputer. Typing on it, he shouted to Ulrich, "It's no use! You can't pry it open Ulrich! He locked it shut!" the screen showed a security camera footage, showing the door being jammed by a metal bar.

"Well, that's good news! What about him in the Scanner Room, Einstein?" Ulrich shouted back. Jeremy only leaped into the chair and strapped on the headphones.

"He's in Lyoko now."

AN: Here's Chapter 2! I'm trying to do better for the story, so again, please review!


	4. Preparation

AN: Another chapter. Here you go. (Yawn)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Code Lyoko

Everyone crowded around the computer. Edward's avatar was running through the Forest Sector. "What do we do now?" Odd asked. No one replied. As they stared at Edward running, everyone's eyes widened in surprise as they saw him running towards a white glowing tower. Jeremy then mumbled, "How did he know about the Way Tower?" "Can't we just go to Lyoko ourselves and then confront him?" Ulrich suggested. "If you go there, we're not sure how long the Supercomputer will last." Aelita replied. "Then let's turn the main generator back on!" Odd said. "If we on it now, when the Supercomputer is on, the power might overload, destroying the Supercomputer altogether." To everyone's surprise, Yumi was the one who replied. "I read my books." "Can't we just put it in hibernation as we on the generator?" Odd joked. Suddenly, Jeremy's eyes lit up. "Odd, say that again…"

"I can't believe we're doing this." Odd fiddled with the wires with Aelita's orders. "Now disconnect the Digital-transfer Chamber from the power source and…" "I'm sorry; disconnect the what from the power source, Mrs. Einstein?" After long periods of chatter, they finally finished. "Okay, who wants to go first?" Jeremy asked, oblivious to the fear of returning. "I would." Said a voice from the back. No one noticed William following them. "I went by the panels. I want to see Lyoko one more time." "And why should we let you go into Lyoko? Should I remind you that you destroyed Lyoko!"

"That's why. I want to make it up to you guys. Look. He's going to edge of the Moutain Sector. He's going to Carthage."

Turning their attention back to the screen, the password program had been forcefully opened, and using his mind, the passwords screened through the program. (AN: Edward doesn't know what SCIPIO is for.) "Well?"

"Jeremy, let him. We want answers." Aelita pleaded. "….Fine, but Ulrich and Odd have to go with you."

As the scanners hummed into Lyoko, Edward was sitting on a block of Digital Rock, looking at a floating screen of William, Odd and Ulrich virtualising into Cathage. "So, they have come. Wait… Ha! Cannon fodder. Well, time to have some fun. Hehehe…." Jumping down the rock, he grasped the three razor disks in his hand.

"One for each of them. Hmph. This will be a boring fight. I was hoping for more unfair odds."

AN: Is it better? Review this well. Please.


	5. Confrontation & Immediate Defeat

AN: Here is another chapter. Read & Review!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Code Lyoko.

"Well, back we are again." "Yeah. I thought I would never see this place again." "Hmph, without XANA, it's no more fun." The turnstile then stopped and a door opened. Dashing through, Jeremy's voice cut through. " Edward cleared the button. There's no need to search for it. He's at the entrance of the Lyoko Core Chamber." " On it!"

" _Yes. Come to me."_

In the lab, Jeremy and the girls were monitoring Edward's movements. " Look! He stopped!" Yumi stated. ' Well, that means his target isn't the core, or any of the sectors." " Jeremy, what is his ability?" Aelita cut in. " Well, it seems his main weapon are razor blade disks, but something is blocking me from viewing his full profile." Sighing, he added, " I'm afraid we sent them to an enemy that we don't even know."

" There he is!" Ulrich shouted. Edward was leaning on a wall, admiring his disks. His attire was green and blue armor with black pants, together with black gloves and shoes (AN: For a clearer representation, it's like the guy's armor in the movie Tron (Which I don't own) just revealing his neck, wrists and ankles, with a different colour scheme.) " Hello, my friends, looking for me?" " We just want to ask a few questions." William said. "Well, for that, you need to devirtualise me first!" "FINE THEN!" the shouted together, charging at him.

As Odd shot his laser arrows at him, Ulrich and William charged with their high-speed powers, trying to slice him apart. " Who are you fighting?" Edward appeared behind them, empty-handed. As they started devirtualising, the blade disks fell to the floor, and the last thing before all their data flowed away, they saw the engraving on the blades. Falling together, they formed a name.

"Aelita Schaeffer"

AN: There we go! By the way, I can't write better unless you review, so please do it! The next chapter will be a special for all of you. It will be the profile and history of Edward, and why he has blades with Aelita's on them! I will most likely post on Saturday.


	6. Edward's History and Entrapment

AN: There we go! Edward's history! This will help you to understand the story. But not too much. The story will reveal more facts and truths about him. This will just show his history, not why he is doing it. I'll leave that to the story. By the way, the _Italic_ words are the forgotten parts of Aelita's memory. Please read and review!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Code Lyoko

_"Hello, my name is Edward Niarack. What's yours?" Young Edward Niacrack asked the pink-haired girl outside the classroom. "…Aelita. Aelita Schaeffer, but call me Aelita Hopper….." "Looks like we are in the same class, huh?" Edward said, smiling. Smiling back, Aelita then followed him into the class, happy that she had already made a friend on the first day of school. But what she doesn't know is that it is because of this friend that caused the trouble that changed her life forever._

_After a month of elementary school, Edward visited Aelita's house for the first time, and inevitably met her father, Franz Hopper. Edward was with his father at that time, and as time went by, Thomas Niarack started to trust his son to be on his own, and allowed Edward to visit the Hopper's all on his own. More time went by, and by then, the Hopper's and the Niarack's became the best of friends, trusting each other so much, till the Supercomputer was common knowledge between both families_. However, as we all know, the Supercomputer brings not only fortune, but misfortune as well.

_One_ _day, Edward didn't show up for school. Aelita spent the class time alone, and on her mind was only him. After reassurances and taunts from her classmates for caring about Edward, _Aelita ran straight home. Greeting her father, she went up her room to play. _Still thinking about Edward,_ she suddenly heard a car pull up in front of the house. Coming down to ask her father what happened, Franz just dragged her along to the basement, where the Supercomputer was located. While running, Aelita asked why they were running. Franz then said, "Don't worry, all will be explained. _You're friend Edward is also coming with us."_ Before being scanned, they said their goodbyes and went into Lyoko.

However, arriving in Lyoko, they found themselves cornered by XANA's monsters. Trying to reason with it, Franz explained his situation. But XANA didn't listen. Before being trapped, Franz said his last words to her before shutting down the Supercomputer. "Run, Aelita. Goodbye." Before Aelita spaced out, she got a vision of a boy encased in ice.

A boy that looked like Edward Niarack.

_**Edward's POV**_

"Betrayal." That is the first word that pops into my mind. I still had enough strength to look down at the blades in my hand. They were stained with data. I looked up. I saw the land blacking out under me. " If I'm going to fall, I will fall with honor." I thought. Before I lost consciousness, I used the last of my energy to carve a name on the blades. I wanted my last thought to be my best and only friend.

"Aelita Schaeffer"

" Goodbye, my friend." And after my last words, I lost conscioussness, perhaps forever. Or so I thought.

AN: By the way, Edward's mother was also taken away by the same men that took Aelita's mother away. Edward also doesn't know that Franz Hopper's name is actually Waldo Schaeffer. He thinks the name Schaeffer comes from Aelita's mother.


	7. The Power of the Man named Edward

AN: Okay, here is a new chapter.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko **

Slamming his fist on the keyboard, Jeremy exploded with rage. "How? He is so powerful! He has got to have a weakness! We can't win!" "Jeremy, please calm down." Aelita pleaded. "Yumi is getting the guys and we can plan our next move."

As if on cue, the elevator rumbled open. Inside, Yumi was propping up William and Ulrich, while Odd was lying on the wall, breathing heavily. "We…ha...We couldn't beat him… ha…" William choked out. "Sorry…ha…Einstein…." Odd said. "We…ha…we couldn't even touch him! Ha… I can still feel the blade in me….ha…" Ulrich muttered, trying to stand up, only to fail. "Jeremy, what is he looking for?" Aelita asked. "I don't know, okay? He has been sitting there with his disks… wait a minute… look at those disks!" Everyone except Odd, William and Ulrich crowded around the screen. Blowing up the screen, the three disks formed a word. "Aelita Schaeffer isn't it. I saw it before we devirtualised." Odd yelled from across the room, obviously exhausted. As Aelita backed away slowly, clutching her heart and slid down a wall of the lab.

"Aelita. He knows who you are."

_**Aelita's POV**_

I didn't want to go back to Lyoko. To go back is the same as visiting a graveyard that had my father's body. But I couldn't let people suffer. Again. "Ok. I'll go. I will see what he wants." I said, bowing my head in sadness. "Okay. Yumi, go with her and make sure she doesn't do anything crazy." Jeremy said, taking off his glasses, pinching his nose bridge. But I was already in the elevator. As the it rumbled down, I tried to remember my memories of my father. But every time I think about him, I remembered seeing a boy encased in ice. I shook my head. Maybe I was going crazy. Let's just go through this and end it.

_**Normal POV**_

As their data flowed into Lyoko, Edward was standing up and closing the small floating screen. "Come! Merciless is my name, merciless is my game! Meet your friend of old!" he yelled. Meanwhile, Yumi and Aelita was walking out of the chamber, afraid to meet the impending doom. But, in the end, they come face-to-face with him, with three blades in each hand.

"Hello, Aelita. Come here with a bodyguard? You were just like then the last time I saw you. But I want to talk to you only." Edward said before throwing a disc at Yumi. Dodging it, Yumi throwed a fan of her own. " Interesting, not a long range not short range, moderate fighter. Interesting…" Edward said, casually dodging it. "But you can't beat me." Throwing three discs together, he jumped onto a ledge. As Yumi dodged them, a glowing aura surrounded Edward's head. The on-lookers in the lab was shocked as they saw sharp spikes appear under Yumi. "Yumi! Look out!" Aelita shouted to her. Trying the best she could, Aelita activated her Creativity, causing a platform to appear over the spikes. "Thanks, Aelita!" Yumi called out. " Ok! Now where is h-agh!" As she started devirtualising, the blade fell to the floor, and returned to Edward's hand.

"Enough." Edward nicked his blade at Aelita's leg, making here kneel. " Aelita! You lost 80 life points! Run!" Jeremy tried to warn her. But she couldn't move. Towering over her, he lifted up his blade and aimed for her neck. "My blades can make you feel. Even if you devirtualised. You should know, your four friends have internal bleeding. They just doesn't know yet, and if that kind of injury could happen when I threw it in their stomach, what would happen in I cut their neck?" Edward threatened.

As the others heard what he said, William, Ulrich, Odd and Yumi suddenly collapsed in pain. As Jeremy looked over their twitching bodies, he anxiously tried to start the Return To The Past program. "Don't waste your time. I deactivated that program. The only way to help them is to devirtualise me. That would instantly erase the blade's virus in their bodies, and the erase is permanent, so don't worry about that, but the one you should be worried about is her." Edward mocked at Jeremy, with the blade still in his hand.

Seeing her chance, Aelita fired three energy spheres at him in quick sucession, only to be absorbed by the other blade in Edward's other hand. Seeing this, Edward then pulled down his hand, the blade straight at Aelita's neck.

_**Aelita's POV**_

The blade was heading straight towards my neck. I heard Jeremy screaming my name, together with the faint tapping on the keyboard. Nobody can save me now.

I knew it was the end.

AN: Don't worry, it's just a cliffhanger! The next chapter won't come up until I think of a way to save her. Anyway, it should be simple. It would come up in about 2-3 days. Please Read and Review!


	8. NOT A CHAPTER! Author's note

I'm sorry guys. My proofreader is down. So until I get it up and running again, I will review and rewrite the previous chapters. The next chapter should be up in about 2 weeks. I will also delete the latest chapter. Once again, sorry."


	9. Mercy & Questioning

AN: Well guys, I'm back. My proofreader is back. Looks like he got food poisoning. Well, anyway, a chapter is here!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Code Lyoko.

But as the blade came down, it turned into a small floating screen on his hand. Holding it under Aelita's face, he muttered, "Come on Aelita. Show a little dignity." As Aelita's looked up, she stared at the small floating screen, which showed a program that was illegible to everybody in the lab. "Come on, stand up." Edward said as he helped her get up.

Standing face to face, Aelita looked at the screen that has been passed onto her hand. "Now, don't just stare at it like a dumb. It's the antidote program to the virus. Just install it on the Supercomputer and everything would be fine. After all, you want to ask me questions, right?" Edward said, crossing his arms. Looking up at Edward, Aelita was dumbfounded.

Then, Jeremy asked from the lab, over the writhing of his friends, "How do we know that you're not tricking us? It could make it worse!" Replying with annoyance, he said, "Why? Am I too straight-forward? Okay then, let's put it this way. 'Either install this program or your friends die.'"

Silently discussing with each other, Aelita did a double take on Edward, while Jeremy glanced at their friend's agony. Having no choice, they decided to trust Edward. But as the program started up, Aelita saw a flash of anxiousness on Edward's face.

"Argh! I'm off my game!" Jeremy said. Finally, the program was running. But, as the pain in William, Ulrich, Yumi and Odd subsided, Aelita and Edward started to devirtualise. "Wha…What? What's happening?" Aelita and Jeremy said in perfect unison. "As I said, in order for them to heal, I need to be devirtualised at least once. And I guess you were affected too."

When Edward appeared from the scanner, he was faced with the group surrounding him. Raising his arms in defence, he was led to the security room, where he was tied to a chair, with the group surrounding him.

"Okay… So what do you want to know?" Edward asked, casually lying back. "Firstly, how in the world did you find out about the Supercomputer?" Jeremy asked with anger. "My dad was friends with Franz Hopper, and I was old classmates with…" he started, looking in Aelita's direction.

"Okay, now, if you were friends with Aelita, WHY DID YOU NEARLY KILL US?" Yumi blasted out. "Simple. I programmed the Supercomputer to erase everything about me from her mind before Mr. Hopper closed the Supercomputer, So I might as well scare you a little."

"Okay, how did you do that thing when you waved your hand over the Supercomputer?" William cut in, trying to hold off Yumi. "Easy. As long Lyoko stands, I control the data that is related to anything technological ."

"Wait a minute, why did you program the Supercomputer to erase all of my memory?" Aelita asked from the back of the group. But, Edward hesitated from answering, not even making eye contact with Aelita. "Well? Why did you erase her memory?" "Not her entire memory, just instances when I met her and her dad." Jeremy and Edward argued. "Will you just answer the question?" Ulrich exploded, fed up with the bantering of the two. Once again, Edward hesitated to answer the question, but he knew he couldn't get his way out of this. "Fine. You want to know why I erased her memory? It's because… because…" Edward answered, his voice increasing in anger.

"Because I didn't want her to know what a monster her father is!"

AN: How's that? Remember, I'll be writing votes for pairings! So Read & Review!


	10. Filler

AN: Took too long on this chapter. It's extremely short. Just a filler.

Disclaimer:**I don't own Code Lyoko.**

**Aelita's POV**

That was ten days ago. Eventually, we started to accept him. Though Jeremy seems to dislike him. No idea why though. Anyway, we restarted the Supercomputer, and for one reason. After all, who wouldn't want to destroy XANA's brother?

AN: Told you it was short. And yes, XANA's brother. Oh yeah, by the way, READ & REVIEW. Or I will write a very weird and typo-filled story. _"Heheheheh."_


	11. Espionage

AN: I wonder what happened to my brother. He got locked in his closet or something. If any of you readers heard of an Elemental-of-Words on Fictionpress, try his stories. He's my brother. This is an earlier draft I made with him. Weird huh? Although, this was the supposed first chapter.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko.**

"What a dump." Edward Niarack Sr. said, driving his Red Mercedes into Kadic High. "Oi. It's not his fault the ProGram was hidden here. Anyway, we have to get him first." The man beside him said, arming himself with two revolvers. "Yeah. So let's go. We can't make a spectacle of ourselves. Initiate cloaking sequence." Edward Sr. said, stepping out of the fading car, hiding a dagger in his tuxedo.

As they walked down the halls, wandering students would be intrigued to see two suited men, clad in black and white. Edward Niarack Sr. had pale white skin, random burnt spots due to past mission, wearing a clean black tuxedo, long black pants and polished black shoes. He wore see-through sunglasses and a bowler hat. The man beside him, who is known as James Rot Opere, was the near complete opposite. He wore a clean white tuxedo, long white pants and pearly white shoes. His skin was a tanned, dark color, clearly from prolonged previous missions. He wore black sunglasses, and wore no hat.

They approached the Science Lab, where Ms. Hertz was rambling on about uranium conversion and many other things. "Heh. You're son is too intelligent for this." James whispered. "… … You're right. Let's wait for him."Edward Sr. replied. After a few minutes, the bell rang. The classes dispersed. The duo hid in the bushes, activating camouflage mode on their suits. Soon, Edward Niarack Jr. appeared, together with a couple of students, crowding around him.

"Wow. Popular much?" James said, giving a sly smirk. Edward Sr. rolled his eyes. James was always the least diciplined one out of all of them, though his abilities are better than many. Not him, of course. "So, you're son is oblivious to his heritage?" "… No. He knows, just that he hates it. He always starts a new life, one after another." Edward Sr. replied.

"Hmm? Why?" James asked.

Edward Sr. shuddered a bit before replying. James was astonished. Edward never got scared. And after he gave his answer, he found himself shuddering also.

"Because… He destroys his life, and others, not even giving a shred of mercy when doing it."

AN: Seriously guys, have you seen my bro?


	12. Human Edward's Power & Realization

AN: The truth will set you free. A brilliant statement.

Edward Jr. was heading towards the dormitory together with Jeremy, Aelita, Ulrich and Odd, when he sensed something. Something he has not sensed for a long time. Twelve years, in fact. He hastened his pace. He felt him move faster also. He started to run. He was still there. He left his friends in the dust. He jumped off the railing to the first floor. He glanced to the back, and saw a flash of black. He teleported his data. But he was still there. In the end, Edward Sr. caught him, holding him in a headlock in the gym.

"Hello, son." The grown man said. "… …" Edward didn't reply. "Hmm? Cat got your tongue?" James walked out of the darkness, clucking his tongue. "Hmph. And I thought this will be easy. Well, now let's go down to business. Now," James kneeled down at the stoic child, struggling with his father. "Where's the ProGram?"

"Weird. He took off like a rocket. Got someplace to be?" Odd asked. "Probably more important that being in before curfew." Jeremy said. "Maybe we should go after him?" Aelita asked. "Nah. He's too good. He will never get in any danger." Ulrich stated.

How wrong was Ulrich to think that. Because, right now, Edward is being threatened by his father and his partner, and being held at gunpoint. "Hmm? Not talking?" James said, cocking his gun and placing it at Edward's temple. "Then allow me to blow your brains out. How's that sound?" "… … Ha. You think I'm dumb?" Edward finally said. "What? You dare say that again, kid? You're father already allowed me to kill you." James said. "Heh. You're dumb, not listening to my father completely. You see, I cannot be killed by any foreign objects, including your gun."

The gun blast resonated throughout the room. "Whoops." "No matter. I'm still alive." Edward replied to James, who was visibly shocked by the child's life-force. "Now, would you let go of me, Dad?" Edward asked, pushing his father away and standing stoically over them, pulling the bullet out of his head, splurging a large amount of blood. The crimson ooze spread across the balsa wood floor, staining it with its coagulation of iron and plasma. The bullet was caked with broken skull fragments and blood, though to beige-pink brain fragments were found. The blood continued to drip out of the gaping bullet-hole. The amount of blood that bled were inhumanly large in amount.

"Now, I'm afraid that you have to leave. Goodbye, James Rotter Opere. Goodbye, Edward Leon Niarack. This goodbye is from me, Edward S. Niarack." Edward said, touching the duo's shoulders, causing them to disappear instantaneously.

Back in the cloaked car, Edward Sr. thought to himself, "What? He changed his middle name. Good work son. But the next time, my daggers will strike your cold, ice heart." James then started the car, annoyed at being unable to kill his target. "How did he survive? Damn that kid…"

Back in the dormitory, Edward was examining his head. The hole was still there, as but it does not seem to have any mortal damage. He rubbed his wound with an ointment, which caused it to reform extremely easily. He rubbed the scar, which was covered by his hair. He hid his ointment in his pockets, which he locked in his closet. After that, he turned the light off, and went into a dreamless sleep. However, outside, he had forgotten to lock the door, where prying eyes could easily see his healing. Especially when those prying eyes belong to an Elizabeth Delmas.

AN: But that statement won't come in this chapter.


	13. Filler: The Hit List Of Edward Niarack

AN: When you see a person on the floor, don't just walk around on him. Walk on him. A statement that my brother likes to say. Weird, right?"

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko.**

The next day, Edward walked into the school, and for some reason, drawing attention to all that crosses his path. And the attention then went another level. The people surrounding him started to stalk him. He hastened his pace. They followed. And much to his fortune, he entered the classroom and slammed the door shut. The class was empty, and he had complete privacy.

He pulled out his laptop, a special one that does not have any laptop or transmission of any radiation. A computer that is perfect for a flexible person for Edward, being unable to be sensed by any radar. In fact, the only thing he needs to do is think or say, and the program he wants will appear, just only for his eyes. He thought into the Comp, _"initiate_protocol_254_end_action_code_deathgainer_end_website_code_Po3e2eNi1r4c6_end" _And at that not-so-complicated code, the blog of a certain Elizabeth Delmas appeared.

He wasn't surprised. Even when he was just a toddler, he had come to known how nosy her father was. He looked through the entries, before clicking on the earliest entry. The contents made him jump out of his seat. He read through the blog. It was all conjecture, for sure, but he cursed himself for not locking his door properly.

The blog read;"_Last night, when I was strolling through the dorms, I found that Edward Niarack's room was slightly opened, and I heard weird squelching from it." _Yeah right. More like searching for gossip. _"I peeked into it, and saw it. It was Edward, sitting right as his table, pulling out bullets from his head! He pulled them out and threw them on the table. He then rubbed some kind of cream on it, and the shot disappeared! I tell you it was amazing!" _How much did Sissi see?! _"Then, he locked the cream in his closet or something. The bullet was in his head! His head! Using my expert detective skills," _Edward snorted. "_I have deducted that he was either a super-natural human like those TV shows talked about, an android, or, dare I say it, AN ALIEN?!" _

Edward's eyes were burning, not from the radiation, which there were none, but the ridiculous conjecture of her. He rubbed his scar, which was aching with every thought. He decided to sit down in the class, and waited for the rest to come. He pulled out a book, put on some head-phones, and left himself in the eternal bliss of Beethoven and the book of War & Peace. Quite a spectacle to see for a teenager.

I tell you, you can't imagine how happy the teacher was when he found what he was listening to and reading from. But he confiscated them anyway, obviously using his authority to listen to the classics of Beethoven. Edward happily gave it over, preferring War & Peace over music he has listened so many times over. But his readings were disrupted by the repetitive glances and whispers of the surroundings. A duo of brave, dumb students even lifted Edward's hair to see the scar. They failed, and got a painful dislocation of the right hand. Luckily, they were left-handed.

When the bell rang, Edward immediately stood up, took his CD player back, and raced out the door to the next class. Spanish. Edward couldn't stand the language. He has mastered nearly every single language in the world, some not of this world, and the only one he does not know was Spanish. Well, not masterfully, but enough to get a modest B-point average.

This time, he played a Spanish sonata, composed by himself. He didn't had anything to read, so he kept the clear ear buds away from sight. But still, the same glances and whisperings. And the worst of all, Sissi was at the top of it all, most likely spreading even more rumors about him.

Edward sighed and opened up his bag, pulling a disc-shaped note book out. Tapping his pen top, we listed a name under many others, all crossed out with messy streaks of blood.

"Elizabeth Delmas."


	14. Men in Black

AN: I botched a test for this. A science test. It was my favorite subject. You had better review for this.

At lunch, Edward carried his tray to the group's table, slightly annoyed by the incoming glances. But he was happy that the only know one of his secrets. "Hi guys." He greeted them. "Hi Edward." They replied, with Jeremy sending a disapproving glance. He sat next to Aelita, not only because he wanted to, but it blocked his view from the surroundings.

Odd was stuffing his face with mashed potatoes, peas and cheese, when he spluttered out, "So, I heard that you're an alien." The food particles splattered everywhere. "So how does it feel? Probably quite…alienated." Odd and Aelita laughed at the pun. Yumi and Ulrich were giggling uncontrollably. Only Jeremy and William weren't amused.

**-Page Break-**

Edward quietly ate his food, glaring straight at the people staring at him. He scared them away by flaring his hair green. They gave him a wide berth after that. "Uh… Hey, Edward? Why did you run away yesterday?" Ulrich began to probe. Edward didn't even look up. "Family business." Ulrich seemed satisfied, or relieved that he didn't do anything weird. But Jeremy continued to ask him, "Oh? What business?" "My dad called me. He asked me to meet him in the gym." Edward replied non-chalantly. "Then where is your dad now?" "I don't know." "You're his son, and you don't know?" "…Why are you so interested in my own affairs, Jeremy? You have enough time with N-X jamming the Supercomputer."

Anatomy-Neutrnio-AmisCoDe-Xavier, known as ANAX, or N-X, is a support program by Franz, supposed to help XANA to continue its work. Before XANA was corrupted, Edward Jr. and Sr. tried to warn him against activating it, to no avail. It caused a bitter relationship between the Hoppers and Niaracks. This eventually resulted him in imprisoning Jr. in the cyber world, and mind-killing Sr. of his memories.

Hopper was indeed a cruel man, only caring for his family. So when the Men-In-Black came to arrest the Hoppers, he didn't expect to see Edward Sr. to lead the attack. Revenge, he had said. Hopper tried to tell him that his son was alive before, but failed to convince him. N-X recorded the missing memories, as per Edward Jr. 's last wish. He then transferred the memories to the memory chip Edward Jr. planted in his father's brain. But then, N-X turned against him. He configured the memories to contain Edward Jr. to be a criminal. N-X then joined XANA, allowing him to know everything about the Supercomputer. When the multi-agent program killed XANA, N-X was released, and stayed in hiding until now.

**-Page Break-**

Jeremy calmly replied, " I just want to see where your loyalties lie." Edward's head shot up. The two genii glared at each other intensely, hatred lacing each eye. The others knew better than to interrupt them. Just as Yumi was about to say something, the bell rang. They picked up their trays and dumped them. Odd was tempted to eat the left-over food in the bucket. Ulrich could see it in his eye.

**-Page Break-**

Edward knew something was wrong. It was a nagging feeling at the back of his neck, which cannot be rubbed. His data was wasting away. He needed to act fast. But before Edward could burst through the doors, more than a hundred men-in-black appeared, all holding a gun that looked like a Sig Sauer. And that was when he knew it.

He knew he was screwed.

AN: Goodnight Edward.


	15. Edward's Last Stand

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko**

"All of you, get down on the floor. Now." One of the MIB, possibly its leader ordered. No one moved a muscle. "I said, GET DOWN." He fired a warning shot in the air. Everyone dropped to the floor, but Edward continued to stand. The man noticed this, and stepped closer to him. He pointed his gun at him. "Get down, child. Or I will shoot." He warned, before he realized that Edward had a scar at the side of his head. And before he knew it, he was on the floor, his head bleeding profusely.

**Edward's POV**

I didn't have much data left. It seemed that the men were sent here by N-X. This isn't good. If I don't get to the Supercomputer soon… Not Good. But at least I have enough data to handle a few of them. That was when I noticed the guy in front of me. Using my training from my past, I managed to neutralize him easily. But that attracted the bullets of all of them. Yup. I'm most certainly screwed.

**Normal POV**

A flurry of bullets headed against Edward, which Edward easily grabbed. The bullets were nothing but balloons against his hands. He threw them back, them piercing the shoulder, leg and torso of the MIB. Seeing them writhe in pain, he quickly led the students out of the lunchroom, heading for the gym.

As they blockaded the doors, they huddled to a corner. Edward shouted, causing his voice to bounce off the walls, "All of you! Don't waste time! The barricade won't hold! Jeremy, Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, William and Odd! Come with me! We have a virus to catch." Edward dragged them to the side door, not before shouting to the remaining students, "Hold the line until I get back! I won't be long." And with that, they sped off to the factory.

They snuck across the pillars, Edward knocking out any wandering guard. But Aelita noticed that he was getting quite pale. "Edward? You seem weak." "I'm fine Aelita. Just go on. If I lag you behind, just leave me. I'll catch up." Edward replied, head-chopping two MIB agents at the basement. He seemed even weaker now.

At last, when they reached the sewers, Edward collapsed. And with him, five Elite-MIB agents cornered them. "Ha! We were waiting for that criminal to faint! Now, give us the boy and no one gets hurt." One of them said. The group looked at the panting Edward. "Guys…Leave…me… I…will…catch…up…" Edward strained himself to stand. He was deathly white. Edward then looked back at Jeremy. "Lead…them…up" He muttered, and stepped forward in front of them. "Go…"

Jeremy was compiling the factors. They were after Edward. Edward is weak. When Edward is left, they will have enough time to run. He looked at Edward. _"I'm sorry." _He thought, and led the others up the ladder. "Edward! Survive! We'll return to get you!" Ulrich shouted, following suit with Jeremy.

Alone in the sewer, Edward used all his power to materialize disks in his hand. He only managed to do two. But it was enough. The buzz-saws whirred, and Edward's blood count reduced. He wasn't going to survive. His only hope is the Return To The Past. _"No matter. It's time to show my dad why my name is Edward Niarack. The Niaracks will return, and it won't be because of you, father." _He thought, and taunted the sword-wielding MIB agents.

"Let's dance, MIB!"

AN: I do not own the initials 'MIB'. It belongs to the Men In Black movie. I only used it so I didn't make the story too long. I'll be on a hiatus for a while.


	16. Equipment Upgrades and Impending Doom

AN: I just realized. I like killing people in my story. But I won't do that in this fanfic. Or will I?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko**

They closed the shutter, muffling the metal-grinding sound in the sewers, and the occasional scream of pain. Giving a last farewell, they ran into the factory, hoping that all will be well. Entering the elevator, they pressed the control pad, and the elevator descended. Reaching the computer room, Jeremy parted from the group, and took his place as the computer genius of the Lyoko world.

The Scanner Room's three scanners were glowing in all its glory, together with a fourth and fifth blue kind that was for Edward and Aelita. Edward had worked day and night to build them. _"Great. If Edward dies, we'll have something to remember him by." _Odd thought, entering the yellow scanner. Ulrich and Yumi followed suit, allowing Aelita to take her place in a blue scanner.

"Jeremy? Are you sure that this is safe?" Aelta's uncertain voice rang through the speaker of the Supercomputer. "Yes. I helped Edward in debugging the system, and the new scanners should reject any hostile data." Jeremy said into the micro-phone. "Anyway, the tower is in the Ice Sector. Get used to the new weapons." Jeremy started the program. Avatars of Aelita, Ulrich, Odd, Yumi and William appeared on the screen. Edward had modified the Supercomputer to not need to manually scan and identify the scanners, so Jeremy only needed to do one thing.

"Virtualization!"

_**Lyoko, Ice Sector**_

The human grid shapes slowly materialized into 3D avatars of the group, barely even falling an inch. Another of Edward's modifications. He had even modified their weapons.

Ulrich now had three swords, two for his hands and one in his mouth.

Yumi now had the ability to explode her fans still intact, and her telekinesis skill has increased.

Odd finally has his own special skill, the (de-bugged) ability to teleport. His laser darts had been refined and now more efficient. He also had the power to scan for weak points and the Life Points of anybody.

William, together with the rest of the group, now can't be mind-controlled. His speed and his sword's weight has been upgraded, and now can mind-control monsters themselves.

But Aelita, being Edward's childhood friend, got the best of them all. She could conjure up her own monsters on her own, her energy spheres refined to the best they could be, her wings able to be sprouted at just a thought and the strongest of all, the ability to take away the powers of anybody.

**Paragraph Break**

They ran through the digital ice tundra, going through by a path to a glowing purple tower. "Well. Looks like ANAX has been busy." Odd remarked, looking at the defensive position of the new monsters in front of the tower. They had no XANA symbol, and none of them looked like the original XANA monsters. They hid behind an iceberg, and armed themselves. "I don't think they will be easy to get around." William remarked. "Thanks, Captain Obvious." Yumi replied, flipping her fans open.

Odd then placed his fingers into a square, and a scouting grid appeared in the area of his hands. The grid showed a complete 3D hologram of the monsters. "Well, Odd?" Ulrich asked, fitting a sword into his mouth. "Wow. These guys are pretty strong. Look." He pointed to the bottom of a list of monsters. "All of them have a Life Point Count of 500, and their power is more than 300. Our 100 Life Points won't stand a chance."

But then, Jeremy's anxious voice sprouted over the land. "Don't worry guys. Edward refined the program, and now your Life Points are 1000 points. We… owe him a lot. If we didn't know him, I think the entire world would be ANAX's rule. The least thing we could do is save him." They all nodded in agreement, and motivation fueled their courage. "Vehicles, Jeremy?" Aelita asked. "They're placed in front of the monsters. It should be easy to ride them now." Jeremy replied. "Go!"

"Refdy?" Ulrich spluttered out, voice muffled by his sword. "Yup. Let's go!" Odd replied, rubbing his wrist. "On three. One… Two…" Yumi instructed, counting down. "THREE! GO GO GO!" William finished, and charged at the monsters in Super Smoke form. Aelita activated her wings, and the other three ran to their respective vehicles.

The vehicles were indeed upgraded. The Overbike had two plasma cannons in front of it, and an autopilot mode. There was even a retractable holder at the sides to hook his swords, perfect combination with the autopilot.

The Overwing now had a force field function, and also had an autopilot function. It also had homing-missile launchers at the side of the Overwing, and had an armored front, acting as a battering ram.

The Overboard now had a voice-activating function, grouped together with a versatile plasma weapon system, but it requires an avatar to use it, nothing like the other vehicles' autopilot function. But it had the strongest weapons out of all of them, and that was a plus.

Ulrich then noticed another vehicle that looked like a rotating disk. "Hey Jeremy! What's with the huge buzz-saw?" He asked. "Oh. That vehicle was for Edward. He made it himself. But I'm thinking of destroying it." Jeremy replied. "Never mind that now! Go save Edward!"

_**Sewers under the factory**_

And he did needed saving. He had just defeated N-X's goons and his blood count was dangerously low. He didn't have enough energy to escape. But he had to, or he was indeed doomed. He pulled himself up the ladder, and crawled to the lift. He pressed the keypad, and went down to the Scanner Room and got into the open blue scanner. Using all his strength, he screamed, but it was nothing but a low whisper.

"Virt…ual…ize…me…!" And he dropped onto the floor.

This is the last chapter until two weeks later. I'll add one more to my other fanfics, then my hiatus is on.


	17. Edward's Survival

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko.**

Jeremy could have sworn he heard someone in the scanner room, but he couldn't care less. The others were in deep trouble, and even the upgrades couldn't help them. The trouble came in a form of indestructible virtual termites.

**Lyoko, Ice Sector, Tower Identification- 1133235424323-Code-LGJD**

The first wave of enemies was already destroyed, but N-X just had to materialize more. The monsters, Teranks, Odd called it, were bigger than a tank, and in swarms of tens. Aelita had single handedly destroyed two armadas alone, but it took a huge amount of life points with it. They were fighting for their life, and their weapons weren't even making a dent.

"Einstein! A little help here!" Odd yelled, firing eight more arrows at the XANA eyes of a termite, not even hurting it. "The data shields are blocking my signal, including yours, Odd! I can't find the weakness!" Jeremy said into the microphone, tapping wildly on the keyboard. "Just keep on trying! Remember; keep Aelita out of their sights! The missiles take 500 LP, and she has 400 left!" "I'm trying, Einstein! Those missiles are gravitational!" Ulrich shouted, trying to pull Aelita, who was stuck to the ground. "Come on Princess. MOVE!" He muttered, and finally made his way behind a glacier, before it exploded in a barrage of data. "Yup. That did it. We're finished." William said, blocking a missile with his Zweihander which sent him flying.

"Don't tell him twice, Dunbar."

The firing stopped, even the monsters. They turned their head in anticipation. On the cliff, there stood Edward, jade-colored discs buzzing in his hand. Before the group could even say his name, he threw his three discs at the enemy, and they fell like flies. With their data wasting away, he hopped down to the ground, and faced the group.

"Did you really think that I would fall that easily?" He remarked, catching the discs and storing them at his thigh. He was then taken aback by a sudden group hug, before Aelita noticed that his hand was gone.

"Edward? What happened to your hand?" Aelita asked. Edward held up his disembodied arm. "Oh, this? Don't worry about it Aelita, go deactivate the tower. Knowing N-X, he is materializing a monster right now, so you better be fast, milady." Edward said, before using his other hand to throw a disc behind him, striking a nearby Fly.

Flies are little buggers that ravage data, chewing through virtual avatars like a buzz-saw. They found them hard to hit, but Odd pulled them through.

Edward then turned on his heel a perfect 180 degrees, and threw all three discs in succession, destroying the entire hive of Flies before anyone could react. "Well? Don't just stand there. Go!" Edward commanded, and threw the discs again with expert precision at the incoming swarm.

Stashing aside all other questions, the group charged towards the tower, and didn't falter when the eighteen floating cubes guarding it exploded with data. Aelita went into the tower as the rest stood guard…

And found herself face-to-face with a huge digital worm, charging up a blue fiery laser that will take 1000 LP.


	18. When Edward is Enraged

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko.**

"Aelita! What happened?!" Jeremy asked. There was no response. Aelita was too scared to reply. She was drained of every ability she had left, even her energy fields won't help her here. A point-blank shot like that would have broken through any defense. She had noticed it acts on the enemy's movement, so she couldn't do anything but hope that she doesn't twitch. But when she noticed that the laser charge was aimed directly at her, she had no choice but to say goodbye.

The disappearing data caught Edward in the face.

_**The Lab**_

"Aelita? Aelita!" Jeremy shouted into the mike. Aelita then appeared behind him, panting. "Sorry, Jeremy." Aelita apologized, and took her place beside Jeremy. "Not good. Guys, Aelita has been devirtualized. Abort mission! Repeat, Abor-" Jeremy's voice was caught in his throat at the rapid movement of Edward's nav-point. "Edward? What the heck do you think you're doing?"

_**Lyoko, Ice Sector, Tower Identification-**__**1133235424323-Code-LGJD**_

Edward ran into the tower, and threw all of his three disc into the worm. It exploded in a combination of square data and binary spheres. His face was warped in a combination of anger and ruthlessness. He stomped on the platform, and it broke to pieces. He then forcefully floated up to the top platform, catching his discs and storing two of them in his thigh. He then waved his disembodied hand over the empty screen, causing a password program to open. At first, Jeremy thought he was going to insert the same password Aelita uses, but he found himself wrong.

He slashed the blade on the screen.

As he jumped out of the tower, the building started to collapse onto itself. Rolling on the ground, he instantly stood up, and saw as the group started to panic. The ran to the back of Edward, who had a malicious smile on his face. He then hopped onto a glacier, and looked up into the sky. He then rose his disembodied hand, and the data slowly regenerated.

Flexing his fingers, he picked up the other three discs on his left thigh, and held them together with his other three discs. He sat down, and started to sharpen them. But then, with every scrape, the land trembled. Soon, the entire Ice Sector broke into small platforms. The group tried to balance on the random shifting platforms, before William felt something whizz past his head.

"Hey! What's the big idea, Niarack?!" William shouted, as the blade returned to Edward's hand. He was still sitting on the block of ice, but his face was clearly shown. His eyes burned with anger. "What in the world-?" William then saw the rest of the discs follow suit. It missed him, and hit the ice instead. William looked at the epicenter, and saw initials that was carved in the ground.

"Get out of my world."

**-Paragraph Break-**

They eventually got devirtualized by Edward, and got back safely. They now had doubts against the famed, or infamous, Lyoko warrior, with only William and Aelita coming to his defense. But with Edward's disappearance in the Digital Sea, he took all their answers with him. After that, the Supercomputer would not start up. It would always be off or malfunctioned, and Jeremy had no idea how to fix it. For all he knows, Edward's dead.

But not yet.

He was gone for three months, but one day, in the middle of fall …


	19. The Start of The End

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko.**

The factory was as silent as a room with no TV. Well, not that quiet. Occasional shrieks of mice rang through the building. But in the lab, the Supercomputer was on. On the screen was one lone program, a visual of Lyoko, in Sector 5. What we see is a shadow of a being running through the sector, data trails dissipating with every step. The shadow gets to the core, where we see what he was running from.

The chaser is a floating cloaked ghost, green buzz-saws circling him like a shield. Stretching a scarred hand out, five of the blades shot out and hit his target in the back. The target fell to the ground, before getting speared by the stalagmites that sprouted from the ground.

Standing over him, the cloaked figure pulled off his hood and revealed his scarred face. The blades returned under the cloak but left a single blade in his hand. His blue eyes gleamed as he struck the target's neck.

"Goodbye, scum."

**-Paragraph Break-**

"Ready for our final visit to the factory?" Odd asked, throwing his drink into the garbage can. The rest nodded sadly and did the same. Noticing Aelita's fallen face, Jeremy placed a caring hand on her shoulder. "We have done all we can. It's time to let go." Aelita nodded and followed them out of the school, a bad feeling forming at the bottom of her stomach.

In the bushes, a dark cloaked figure observed them before disappearing as fast as he came.

**-Monsieur Time Lapse-**

In the sewer, they found the opening to the factory clogged up with something…sticky. After getting his hand stuck in the green goop, Ulrich climbed down the ladder. "Ugh. Is there another way in?" His question instead was met with a voice from the dark. "Not if you want to die." Jeremy turned on his heel, only to face a floating, cloaked figure.

They stood there in awkward silence, before Yumi yelled. "GHOST!" The group fled the scene, scrambling across the sewers. The figure gave no chase. "You can't escape. All exits have been blocked. You all will agree to my conditions, or I will kill you all, here and now." No response. Green buzz-saws started to circle him.

"Very well then. Let the hunt commence."


End file.
